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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bear · mark · club · face · present · prune · tear · shower

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bear — the animal
  8. club — for dancing
  9. face — to confront
  10. tear — from crying
  11. shower — to wash
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — there
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mark — a trace
  16. present — a gift
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for golf
  19. face — part of the head
  20. tear — to rip
  21. shower — rain
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. tear — from crying

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com